To see her dominating the OUA women's field lacrosse league with the Trent Excalibur is nothing short of remarkable.

The 18-year-old from Courtice, whose father Joe Michel is a Peterborough native, suffered a rare spinal stroke in January 2015. She was in a hotel room with her parents between games at a girls hockey tournament in Ottawa when pain began shooting down her back. It spread through her legs and torso and she was unable to stand. She was rushed to the hospital.

Michel spent the next week in the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa where tests revealed a blockage of blood flow to her spine. She was flown to a rehabilitation hospital in Toronto where she spent the next six weeks. In those early days it wasn't clear what the long-term effects were going to be.

"I didn't know if I was going to walk again," said Michel, who had committed to an NCAA Division I lacrosse scholarship to Buffalo's Canisius College before the stroke.

"It was really tough, but I tried my best to stay positive. I had a lot of support coming in from back home. It was obviously a really scary state for me but I kept trying to push through it."

In subsequent weeks her condition improved and she started to get around with the use of a walker.

"About three weeks after the stroke happened I was pretty confident I was going to be able to play sports again," she said. "I could see improvements every day and my physiotherapist told me she was seeing improvements every day. That kept me motivated to keep going and get better and better."

Remarkably, three months later she showed up to field lacrosse practice at Courtice's Holy Trinity high school.

"I was all smiles and full of excitement and really grateful," she said.

To this day Michel has no feeling in her left leg.

"My right leg is still kind of weak so it tires out pretty quickly when I do some running. My left leg still has no sensation," she said.

You can't tell from watching her play that anything is abnormal, says Trent head coach Tori Wasson.

"I can't tell that there is anything wrong," Wasson said. "No one can predict what events are going to happen in your life and how you are going to respond, but, obviously, she's a fantastic athlete to be where she is right now. To respond the way she did and say 'No, this is what I'm going to do and this is how I'm going to succeed' is really remarkable."

Not only are there no limitations to what she can do in a game, Wasson said, the team follows Michel's lead.

"She's gone through a lot to get to where she is now," Wasson said. "Everybody really looks up to her and really wants her to have the ball and to do something with it, and she does. Her ability to move and use the space that is provided is amazing. To be where she is right now, I don't know if she could have predicted it. No one could have predicted what was going to happen at the time she was struggling. She has to be pretty proud of herself."

Michel made a tough decision last spring to give up the Canisius offer and stay closer to home. She sent an email to Wasson asking if there was a spot for her on the team.

"I felt like I wouldn't be able to keep up in the NCAA," Michel said. "I didn't want to play on a team if I was just sitting on the bench because of my limitations. I thought staying in Canada would be a better fit. Trent was closer to home and my grandparents (Herb and Sue Michel) are here and my brother (junior A Lakers captain and Excalibur men's player Dan Michel) goes to Trent. The campus is really nice and offered my program (psychology) and I just thought it was the best fit."

It's been a blessing for the Excalibur.

"We're very lucky, very lucky," Wasson said. "We were happy to take her email and to offer her any support she needed. She's been tremendous."

"I'm very grateful to be playing lacrosse still," Michel said. "I try to work my hardest every practice and every game because I know how quickly it can be taken away from you."